Aiptasia control

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Pszemol wrote:
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Pszemol wrote:
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Anyone used Blue Life?

I put a few drops on a few of the buggers, and looks like it kills
them. Any long-term effects? Any other products recommended?

The best product I can recommend is buing some peppermint shrimps.

Tried them; they don't work. Neither did copper-bands. I had one
actually eat flake food instead.

Of course shrimp will eat flake food - why are you surprised?

The copper-band is a butterfly fish. One could look it up.

In any event, I'd still like some feedback on the Blue Life, if
anyone's tried it.

Mike, are you the manufacturer rep? ;-)

I must have mistaken this group for one which discusses issues
surrounding reef tanks. I seem to have wandered into one where
people change questions to ones they can answer. My apologies.

Mike

you want the "rec.magic.answers" the one where all your questions are
answered exactly like you want.

i keep looking for that ng too. let me know when you find it.

Jim

Clownfish will not kill a berghia near it's anemone. Berghia a very
small, nocturnal and absolutely no threat to a fish or their anemone.

Pszemol wrote:
wrote in message ...
Pszemol wrote:
wrote in message ...
also, i fully agree with pszemol, natural biological control is always
better than chemical control, in ANY circumstance, human or fish. but

Agreed, when it works. When it doesn't...

Tell me about your tank... how big is it.

55 gallon.

How many aiptasias?

More than I used to have. At this point, over a hundred.

How many shrimps you get?

Started with 5. Good scavangers, lousey anenomenephages.

So how many peppermint shrimps you had top in 55 gallons
and how many aiptasias you got THEN (not now...) ?

Now, with a hundred fully grown anemones this is way too
late for 5 shrimps to make a dent... Aiptasia will grow
much faster than shrimp can keep up consuming them...
You need to get shrimps to work when you see first one or
two large aiptasia polyps and then it is effective method.

I did. They apparently weren't hungry.

Mike

Don Geddis wrote:
wrote on Tue, 30 Oct 2007:
The MarineDepot newsletter had 3 similar products listed; Joe's Juice,
Chem-Marin, and the Blue Life. Joe's Juice actually had a higher
rating, but my local LFS don't carry them.

I usually use Joe's Juice. It rarely kills them the first time, but a good
dose on a large one will make it much smaller and clear, and sometimes kill
them. I mostly use it to target-attack aiptasias that are threatening my
show corals.

So far, the Blue Life is working, and it's a one-shot deal. I, too,
targetted the buggers closest to my corals, and (and this is only the
3rd day, so I'm going to continue to be very cautious) the corals
seems to be opening up more (as is the clam which had quite a few
of the little rascals around them.)

Not from San Francisco, are you?

Nearby. On the peninsula. The hills above San Mateo.

Did you used to do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Mik

wrote:

Nice summary; I'd still like more info about the Berghia.

Mike

Saltyunderground.com has been helping people solve their aiptasia
problems for years. The following summary of aiptasia control options
are based upon 5 years of conversations with hundreds of people and
our own experiences. It's no secret that there are not many hard and
fast rules in this hobby. The following is a general review of these
options. Each hobbyist experiences may vary. We hope you can use this
information as you consider what method is best for your aiptasia
problem.

Berghia Nudibranchs
Strengths: Berghia eat only aiptasia anemones, nothing else. They can
crawl all over your tank to eat the aiptasia you see and the ones you
do not see. If acclimated and added to a well maintained tank, they
are hardy invertebrates. They may reproduce to help speed up aiptasia
eradication.
Weaknesses: It may take time for the berghia to solve heavy aiptasia
infestations especially if you do not get the correct number of
berghia for your situation. If the berghia are not at least ?", they
should be maintained in a small tank or a container of at least 1
gallon of water until they grow larger before they are placed in a
display tank.
Predators: Primary predators are peppermint shrimp and nocturnal
scavenging fish including coris wrasses that hunt at night.

Peppermint Shrimp
Strengths: When they work, they work fairly well. They typically eat
aiptasia fairly quickly.
Weaknesses: Some stores do not know what type of peppermint shrimp
they are selling. So the shrimp you get may or may not be the kind
that will eat aiptasia. Peppermints would rather eat fish food and may
not eat large aiptasia. They can be destructive to corals, desirable
anemones and clams. Smaller peppermints may not acclimate well.
Predators: Fish which eat ornamental invertebrates such as hawkfish,
various dottybacks, various wrasses, some puffers, some triggers,
eels, ect.

Copperbanded Butterflyfish
Strengths: When they eat aiptasia, they are usually fairly quick about
it.
Weaknesses: Difficult fish to acclimate to a home tank. It may take
several fish to find one that will live. When they live, they are hit
or miss on eating aiptasia. Some are easily bullied by other fish and
it can be difficult to get them to eat foods added to the tank. Some
may nip at corals and clams. Not an appropriate fish for tanks under
50 gallons.

Injected Chemicals and Potions
(includes Kalkwasser preparations such as homemade mixes and store
bought preparations; lemon juice; boiling water, ect.)
Strengths: Inexpensive (when used on a small number of aiptasia) and
fairly easy.
Weaknesses: Risky since this technique often makes the aiptasia
problem worse by spreading small pieces of the dying aiptasia around
the tank. Those pieces grow into a lot of small aiptasia. May cause
injury if you accidentally apply to corals. Can only apply them to the
aiptasia you can reach. Can alter tank pH when used in large doses in
smaller tanks.

Manual Pulling and Scraping
Strengths: Free and fairly easy.
Weaknesses: This is a waste of time. Pulling and scraping may make the
aiptasia problem much worse by spreading small pieces of the aiptasia
around the tank. Those pieces grow into a lot of small aiptasia. It
may be * to get at all of the aiptasia using this method.

Soaking Rock in Fresh Water
Strengths: Free
Weakness: Don't bother. It will kill all life on the rock except the
aiptasia. Aiptasia can live through fresh water soaking, even for
days.

Salty Underground wrote:
Clownfish will not kill a berghia near it's anemone. Berghia a very
small, nocturnal and absolutely no threat to a fish or their anemone.

Any decent sources for them?

Mike

That's not true. Clownfish *will* protect their anemone.

And since there are nudibranches for different types
of Cnidaria, the clownfish does not know that the
bergia is not a type that will eat the clownfish's host.

Wayne Sallee



Salty Underground wrote on 10/31/2007 6:44 PM:
Clownfish will not kill a berghia near it's anemone. Berghia a very
small, nocturnal and absolutely no threat to a fish or their anemone.

And of course some clown fish do a better job of
protecting the enemone, than other clowns. Percula
and Ocellaris are less aggressive than other clowns.

Wayne Sallee



Wayne Sallee wrote on 10/31/2007 10:55 PM:
That's not true. Clownfish *will* protect their anemone.

And since there are nudibranches for different types of Cnidaria, the
clownfish does not know that the bergia is not a type that will eat the
clownfish's host.

Wayne Sallee



Salty Underground wrote on 10/31/2007 6:44 PM:
Clownfish will not kill a berghia near it's anemone. Berghia a very
small, nocturnal and absolutely no threat to a fish or their anemone.

On Oct 31, 8:16 pm, wrote:
wrote:

Nice summary; I'd still like more info about theBerghia.

Mike



Saltyunderground.com has been helping people solve their aiptasia
problems for years. The following summary of aiptasia control options
are based upon 5 years of conversations with hundreds of people and
our own experiences. It's no secret that there are not many hard and
fast rules in this hobby. The following is a general review of these
options. Each hobbyist experiences may vary. We hope you can use this
information as you consider what method is best for your aiptasia
problem.
BerghiaNudibranchs
Strengths:Berghiaeat only aiptasia anemones, nothing else. They can
crawl all over your tank to eat the aiptasia you see and the ones you
do not see. If acclimated and added to a well maintained tank, they
are hardy invertebrates. They may reproduce to help speed up aiptasia
eradication.
Weaknesses: It may take time for theberghiato solve heavy aiptasia
infestations especially if you do not get the correct number of
berghiafor your situation. If theberghiaare not at least ?", they
should be maintained in a small tank or a container of at least 1
gallon of water until they grow larger before they are placed in a
display tank.
Predators: Primary predators are peppermint shrimp and nocturnal
scavenging fish including coris wrasses that hunt at night.
Peppermint Shrimp
Strengths: When they work, they work fairly well. They typically eat
aiptasia fairly quickly.
Weaknesses: Some stores do not know what type of peppermint shrimp
they are selling. So the shrimp you get may or may not be the kind
that will eat aiptasia. Peppermints would rather eat fish food and may
not eat large aiptasia. They can be destructive to corals, desirable
anemones and clams. Smaller peppermints may not acclimate well.
Predators: Fish which eat ornamental invertebrates such as hawkfish,
various dottybacks, various wrasses, some puffers, some triggers,
eels, ect.
Copperbanded Butterflyfish
Strengths: When they eat aiptasia, they are usually fairly quick about
it.
Weaknesses: Difficult fish to acclimate to a home tank. It may take
several fish to find one that will live. When they live, they are hit
or miss on eating aiptasia. Some are easily bullied by other fish and
it can be difficult to get them to eat foods added to the tank. Some
may nip at corals and clams. Not an appropriate fish for tanks under
50 gallons.
Injected Chemicals and Potions
(includes Kalkwasser preparations such as homemade mixes and store
bought preparations; lemon juice; boiling water, ect.)
Strengths: Inexpensive (when used on a small number of aiptasia) and
fairly easy.
Weaknesses: Risky since this technique often makes the aiptasia
problem worse by spreading small pieces of the dying aiptasia around
the tank. Those pieces grow into a lot of small aiptasia. May cause
injury if you accidentally apply to corals. Can only apply them to the
aiptasia you can reach. Can alter tank pH when used in large doses in
smaller tanks.
Manual Pulling and Scraping
Strengths: Free and fairly easy.
Weaknesses: This is a waste of time. Pulling and scraping may make the
aiptasia problem much worse by spreading small pieces of the aiptasia
around the tank. Those pieces grow into a lot of small aiptasia. It
may be * to get at all of the aiptasia using this method.
Soaking Rock in Fresh Water
Strengths: Free
Weakness: Don't bother. It will kill all life on the rock except the
aiptasia. Aiptasia can live through fresh water soaking, even for
days.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You can read info on our website of course. You can also read the
following info from Anthony Calfo. Some of it is a little dated, but
it is still some of the best technical info available. Or just google
berghia or aiptasia.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-0...ture/index.php

On Oct 31, 10:04 pm, Wayne Sallee wrote:
And of course some clown fish do a better job of
protecting the enemone, than other clowns. Percula
and Ocellaris are less aggressive than other clowns.

Wayne Sallee


Wayne Sallee wrote on 10/31/2007 10:55 PM:



That's not true. Clownfish *will* protect their anemone.

And since there are nudibranches for different types of Cnidaria, the
clownfish does not know that the bergia is not a type that will eat the
clownfish's host.

Wayne Sallee


Salty Underground wrote on 10/31/2007 6:44 PM:
Clownfish will not kill aberghianear it's anemone.Berghiaa very
small, nocturnal and absolutely no threat to a fish or their anemone.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

There's no doubt that clownfish protect their anemones. I've have a
few bloody fingers to back that up.

The chances of a clownfish seeing a little berghia at night and having
any issue with it is minuscule to the point that there is no reason to
avoid getting berghia if you have clowns and anemones. We have many
customers who have reported that berghia in tanks with clowns and
their anemones have successfully cleaned their tank of aiptasia. Most
tanks that berghia go into have clowns and anemones in them. We have
no reports of anyone observing a clown attacking a berghia. From a
practical standpoint it would be hard to see since berghia are
nocturnal. But I assure you from our years of expereince with berghia,
it's highly unlikely a clown will attack them.

This kinda fits in the category of "Don't believe everything you
hear," especially in this hobby. You can read in online forums and
chat groups where people recommend Joes Juice, Aiptasia Control and
other chemical/injection methods for removing the aiptasia. Yet, some
of them have either never used it themselves or the fail to write 4-8
weeks after treatment that their aiptasia problem has become worse or
even exploded.

This lack of reporting may be because they do not make the connection
between the use of the chemical and the increase in aiptasia. But we
can assure you that the use of these chemicals can be tied to an
increase in the aiptasia population in many tanks. We estimate that
about 85% of the people who buy berghia from us report that their
problem became much worse after the use of chemicals. This is hundreds
people making this report.